Reborn With a Money-Making System: Ruined Actress to Nation's Treasure-Chapter 68: A Record of Pain (2)

"Please don’t get me wrong, Mr. Brixton," Ethan said politely. "I was only asking a basic question."

He continued, "The video evidence clearly shows that Mrs. Davenport has been abusing Ms. Orszebet for a long time. However, since there’s no solid proof that she forced Ms. Orszebet to take the bank loan, we’ll need to go through a court hearing first."

I frowned slightly, trying to make sense of his words. "Then ... is there any way we can freeze the debt collection?" I asked quietly. "The due date is coming up soon, but I really have no intention of paying it."

To be honest, I never understood why the bank even allowed Helcia to take that loan in the first place. She didn’t have a stable income, so they should’ve known there was no way she could ever pay it back.

[Addison used Helcia’s status as Gideon Davenport’s daughter as collateral,] Penny explained.

[She made it look like Helcia was opening a new business, and since she came from the Davenport family, the bank approved it without hesitation.]

Sometimes, it really felt like the world was unfair.

If someone didn’t come from a rich or powerful family, the bank would reject their loan right away, even if they had a promising business plan.

In the end, even borrowing money required money.

"I believe we can try," Ethan said carefully. "But since the loan amount issued by the bank is quite large—around one million dollars—I don’t think it’ll be easy to freeze it." He paused for a moment before adding, "After all, the bank doesn’t want to risk losing that kind of money."

Lando’s expression darkened. "So they’d rather protect their profits than an innocent victim?"

Ethan sighed softly. "That’s how most institutions work, Mr. Brixton. Unless we can prove that the loan was made under coercion or fraud, they’ll treat it as a valid agreement."

I let out a frustrated sigh, then forced myself to calm down before speaking again. "There’s a chance my stepmother used my father’s name as the guarantor," I said quietly. "If I can’t pay the debt, doesn’t that mean my father will be dragged into it too?"

I didn’t know whether Addison had thought that far ahead or not, but if she really used Gideon’s name as the guarantor, wouldn’t that mean he’d also be responsible if Helcia failed to pay?

No matter how much Addison hated Helcia, she wouldn’t be that careless. She was always so careful around Gideon because without him, she had nothing.

Or ... was there something she was hiding?

Could Addison have taken out the loan in Helcia’s name, with Gideon listed as guarantor, on purpose?

Oh.

Maybe Gideon wasn’t the target at all, but it was Helcia.

If the bank contacted Gideon, Addison could manipulate the situation easily. That wicked woman would probably say that Helcia had deliberately taken out a loan using his name as guarantor because she wanted to start a business, then wasted it on parties and luxuries.

In that way, Gideon would hate Helcia even more, or worse ... punish her severely.

For now, that was a reasonable theory, since it seemed the Brixtons’ marriage proposal came after Addison’s move, so she truly wanted to beat Helcia in her own home.

Oh, this fucking bitch.

She really made me want to smash her head into the railing again and again.

"Yes, there’s a possibility," Ethan said. "But on paper, your name is still legally the one responsible for repaying the debt. The bank will likely contact Mr. Davenport as your listed contact."

Knowing Gideon’s temper, he would probably be furious if the bank called him and found out his useless daughter had taken out a one-million-dollar loan, even if they weren’t asking him to pay it back.

Still, it would be enough to stain his name.

Just thinking about those two disgusting people made my stomach turn.

"So, what do we do now?" I asked. "Can you at least try to make the bank freeze the debt for a while, maybe ... three days?"

Ethan frowned. He was probably thinking three days was far too soon. But before he could say anything, Lando’s calm, confident voice cut in. "I believe Mr. Rowell can manage it in three days, right?"

Ethan let out a short, dry laugh. "Of course. I’ll do my best." He added, "I’ll reach out to the court first thing tomorrow morning and see if we can file an emergency motion. It won’t be easy, but with the evidence we have, I might be able to convince them to issue a temporary freeze." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Lando nodded firmly. "Good. Send me whatever documents or fees you need. I’ll handle them right away."

Ethan blinked, slightly surprised, then gave a grateful nod. "That would definitely speed things up."

I looked at both of them, but my eyes stopped on my husband. "Thank you," I said softly. "Really."

Lando turned to me, his voice calm but certain. "Don’t thank me yet. We’re just getting started."

There was something in the way he said it that made my chest ache. If I’d had someone like him back then, when the scandals tore my life apart, maybe I wouldn’t have been so desperate ... maybe I wouldn’t have jumped from the third floor that day.

Ethan cleared his throat gently, breaking the silence. "I’ll start preparing the paperwork tonight. If everything goes as planned, we can file it by tomorrow morning."

Lando gave a firm nod. "Good. Keep me informed."

After we came to an agreement, we finally parted ways with Ethan.

Once we got into the car, I couldn’t help stretching my arms and letting out a small groan. "I’m so tired right now," I muttered, leaning my head back against the seat. "Can you wake me up when we get home?" I asked.

Lando glanced at me, nodding. "Sure," he said softly. "Go ahead and rest."

Even though he said that, for some reason, I woke up in my bed the next morning without even knowing when I got home or how I ended up in my room.

Seriously, who the hell keeps carrying me from the car to my bed?!